


(I'll Hold You To) Your Impossible Promises

by YappiChick



Category: Halo
Genre: Angst, Conversations, Friendship, Gen, Halo 4
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-20
Updated: 2020-12-20
Packaged: 2021-03-11 01:07:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 889
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28196655
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YappiChick/pseuds/YappiChick
Summary: They were watching the sun rise together.Or Cortana and John have a little conversation towards the beginning of "Requiem" in Halo 4.
Relationships: Cortana/John-117 | Master Chief
Comments: 4
Kudos: 41





	(I'll Hold You To) Your Impossible Promises

**Author's Note:**

> I miss these kids. A lot.

They were watching the sun rise together.  
  
Not that John would say anything of the sort. He would insist that he and Cortana were doing necessary recon before embarking on another mission together.  
  
Most likely, Cortana thought, their last mission together.   
  
John had rummaged through the _Dawn_ ’s wreckage and found some meal rations and spare munitions before trekking up a steep hill to where he could see the valley ahead of them. Wordlessly, he had removed Cortana’s chip, causing her hologram to emerge. He had placed her chip on the ground before reaching up to remove his helmet. Sitting down, he had positioned his helmet beside her. Her distorted reflection had bounced back at her. For a moment, she had studied herself, noting the differences between this reflection and the one she had come to know so well on the Dawn, mirrored back from John's cryotank.   
  
Movement from John had pulled her attention away and she had turned around to face him. Not for the first time, Cortana had been taken aback by how handsome -- _how haunted_ \-- the man behind the armor was.  
  
She had watched as he had ripped open the small silver bag with surprising urgency. Several pieces of freeze-dried fruit fell into his hand as he shook the bag. He had popped the food in his mouth, the sound of his chewing filling the air.  
  
Cortana had raised an eyebrow, “I didn’t even know it was scientifically possible for you to get hungry while in cyro.”  
  
A faint but noticeable blush had stained his cheeks. John had looked uncomfortable and Cortana had been certain he was going to let her comment go without replying. But after a few more stretched seconds, he had rumbled, “There wasn’t much time to eat before.”  
  
Before.  
  
Before he had found her on _High Charity_ .  
  
Before their failed escape from the Ark.  
  
Before the years of floating aimlessly in space.   
  
Things between the two of them had become quiet after that, neither quite knowing what to say, neither ready to broach the unspoken topic of Cortana’s deteriorating state.   
  
They watched as the skies turned from inky black to a purple blue. John continued to eat while Cortana looked around the planet they found themselves on. Trees and grass dusted the rolling hills; in the distance, Cortana could make out some buildings.   
  
As the sun painted the sky a light blue, Cortana turned her focus on the man in front of her and the mission that was ahead of them. Her brows furrowed as questions entered into her matrix.   
  
Why were the Covenant attacking them? What would they find in those buildings? Would she even be able to complete her part of the mission?  
  
With that unsettling question in mind, her thoughts swirled around her impending death. She thought she had made peace with it a while ago, floating in the coldness of space. But now, after one conversation with the Chief, she felt unsettled by her state. There was a fight still left in her, despite how fruitless it was.  
  
Why did John have to make her another impossible promise?  
  
She opened her mouth to ask him that, but what came out instead was, “What’s the first thing you plan to do when we get back to earth?”  
  
He turned sharply to face her, as if surprised by her question. “Find Halsey.” _...remember?  
  
_ Indignation coursed through Cortana. She may be not functioning as well as she had been _before_ but that didn’t mean she couldn’t recall a conversation from an hour prior. The words to rebuke John were on the tip of her tongue when she registered the concern on the Chief’s face. Her anger deflated. There wasn't time to fight with one another.  
  
She shook her head. “No, I mean, after...if you’re able to actually keep that promise of yours.”   
  
He looked out the horizon before turning back to her. “We should probably go pay our respects to Miranda and Johnson.”  
  
Cortana couldn’t explain the feeling that passed over her when he said “we”; a desperate hope to keep living, she supposed. “And then what?”  
  
“We’ll take on our next mission. Keep fighting. Just like we always do.”  
  
Over the years, Cortana had become acquainted with that special brand of determination and stubbornness that John specialized in, but she felt the need to say, “Even if -- and that’s a big if -- Dr. Halsey can get me back to some kind of working state, ONI isn’t going to let you be my custodian anymore. You _are_ aware of this, right?”  
  
He frowned. “They won’t have a choice, Cortana.”  
  
“How will you--”  
  
John suddenly stood up and scooped his helmet off the ground, placing it over his head. Then, he reached around and put Cortana’s chip in place. “We need to get moving.”   
  
She would have crossed her arms in annoyance if she could. “You know, someday we’re going to have a serious discussion about how your tendency to disassociate from intense emotions is not psychologically healthy.”  
  
“You can talk to me about it.” A deliberate pause. "During our next mission.”  
  
Sometimes, she had to admit, his stubbornness was something to be admired. “Is that a promise, Chief?” There was that spark of hope in her voice again. She didn't know if she resented or relished it.   
  
“It’s a promise.”


End file.
